Platform failures: How conflicting data conceptions undermine digital collaboration

Abstract

A growing body of literature is dedicated to understanding how new types of collaborative platforms emerge and sustain themselves. This article sheds light on the hitherto neglected role of data in this institutionalization process. We contend that the institutionalization of collaborative platforms is shaped by controversies that stage diverging data conceptions—namely, cognitive and strategic understandings of what data is and how it creates value. We illustrate our theoretical contribution with the case of TradeLens, a now-defunct digital B2B platform in maritime logistics developed jointly by IBM and A.P. Møller-Mærsk, the giant Danish shipping company. Our analysis reveals that conflicting conceptions of data—as an asset to be accumulated and a resource to be shared—created irreconcilable tensions among potential platform contributors. Our findings indicate that supply chain actors’ narrow conception of data as a key competitive asset hindered the platform’s potential to grow. This mindset fostered distrust and reluctance to share sensitive data, ultimately leading to the platform’s demise. The article concludes by discussing the ongoing challenges in developing digital platforms that encourage collaboration beyond the one-sided dogma of competition and accumulation.